Guruve is an extremely ethical company and we want to help both African artists and others through our art. We make direct gifts whilst in Africa and donate artworks to charities in the UK…
Most recent donations:
Donation of substantial funds for a gallery rebuild at an Arts Centre for young artists in Zimbabwe
Donation of a sculpture to a charity auction for ACTSA (Action For Southern Africa), successor to the anti-apartheid movement – our donation raised £590.
Donation of a Sylvester Mubayi sculpture to a charity auction for the Zimbabwe Farmers Trust Fund (ZFTF), which supports Zimbabwean farmers, both black and white – our donation raised £1,800.
We are the good guys in African art and we can prove it. Since we started trading in 2000, we have given more than £40,000 in donations and gifts directly to individual artists and to group associations and charities, plus raising over £20,000 for various charities. This section should put your mind at ease about our ethics… so challenge other dealers to see if they can PROVE they do the same.
When we visit African artists, we often make donations in addition to our purchases. Over the years we have given large quantities of sculpting tools and equipment to sculptors, specialist printing inks, oil paints, brushes and acrylic paints to the various painters and graphic artists we show. We have also made donations to local artists’ associations, including paying for construction of workspaces and an office and installation of electricity and sponsoring a competition for an Arts Centre for young artists, and sponsoring art workshops for schoolchildren with the Visual Artists’ Association of Bulawayo.
On our 2008 visit to Zimbabwe, we visited the Save Valley Conservancy, where vital work is being done to preserve and protect African painted hunting dogs, Africa’s second-rarest carnivore after the Ethiopian mountain wolf.
A pack of African painted hunting dogs play at a waterhole on the Save Valley Conservancy, home to a very successful conservation project
African Wildlife Conservation Fund is the charity sponsoring this fantastic project, to whom we donated funds towards desnaring a pup and essential food and supplies for the research team. Chishakwe ranch, where the project is based, would love to expand hunting dog tourism (increasing revenue from non-game hunting means) so if anyone is interested, please get in touch.
In 2007 we bought two sculptures that had been donated by Tago Tazvitya and Rickson Zavare during their joint exhibition. We paid a generous amount for them in the knowledge that the funds were going directly to the Bumhudzo Home for the Elderly in the high-density suburbs of Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe.
The home is run by the Salvation Army and provides around 100 elderly residents with food, shelter, pastoral care and basic medical attention. We were greatly saddened to learn that food shortages during that period had lead to the deaths of some residents and that the economic situation was making it very difficult for the home to operate. Any further donations to this worthy cause would be greatly appreciated – please do get in touch.
Active Charity Support
We donate 10% of the income from sales of work by Gambian artists to GETS (Gambia Education and Teaching Support). In recent years, we have raised £725 for them and earmarked this for their new Busambala community centre and school project.
At our outdoor shows from 2005 – 2010 we exhibited reclaimed wood products made by the Riverwood Mencap project. We gave 100% of the value of the products sold to the charity – we took no commission nor did we charge them a percentage of the costs of the shows. In total, we raised well over £15,000 for Greenwich Mencap.
Donations To Charity
Over the years we have also had opportunities to make donations to help other charitable causes. We have participated in fund-raising activities for:
- ASAP (Africa Social Action Project) raising funds for the SizaBantwana AIDS orphanage near Kruger National Park, South Africa.
- AMREF (The African Medical and Research Foundation) incorporating the Flying Doctors’ Service which enables rural and disadvantaged communities in eastern and southern Africa to create and maintain their own healthcare services.
- NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) who provide services for children and campaign to make the world a safer place for them.
- British Red Cross Society who provide medical training and services in the UK and abroad.
- African Wildlife Conservation Fund, the charity funding the research and conservation of Zimbabwe’s painted hunting dogs.
We have also donated artworks to charities’ fund-raising auctions. These include:
- ACTSA (Action For Southern Africa), successor to the anti-apartheid movement – our donation raised £590
- The Mali Development Group that works to alleviate poverty and suffering and to educate people and provide health education in Mali
- National Autistic Society that champions the rights and interests of all people with autism and ensures that they and their families receive quality services appropriate to their needs
- Royal Horticultural Society that is dedicated to advancing horticulture and promoting gardening
- Zimbabwe Farmers Trust Fund which supports Zimbabwean farmers, both black and white – we donated a sculpture that raised £1,800
